"O to the M to the G." Mary blurted.
"I also better get going, lunch is over. See you later, Mary..." Jane repeated what they heard then the two laughed even though they are aware that Jiro is still there.
Jiro cleared his throat and said, "Mary, how many patients are already in line for later?"
"Twelve, Doc," Mary answered. "And one operation later." Jiro nodded his head and finally closed the door.
"You can still see someone." Mary mischievously added.
"OMG! The ship sailed?" Jane texted Mary on her way out.
"I think it is about to sail beyond the pacific," Mary replied happily. She was about to add more when someone knocked on the door.
"Hi, again." It was Kei. "Uhm, just to clear the situation earlier. I just dropped by to bring some food. Ji said he didn't eat lunch yet so..."
"Miss Kei, no need to explain. It's just us, don't mind us." Mary assured her. We know our place. "Besides... We already had a hunch." Mary continued to giggle.
"How? Are we that obvious?" She asked in shock and tried to recall where they "accidentally" reveal themselves.
"We are just observing things. One, Doc Ji always had a textmate lately and we sometimes caught him smiling or even laughing while he do wonders on his phone." Mary recalled it as if it was a vivid memory.
"Two, Doc Ji always disappears during dinner time and whenever he asks me to order food, there's always been a plus one. And that plus one always has a special delivery by him. I thought he was just with Doc Dean, but I've asked Jane and she said she hasn't seen them together in a while."
"Third, Doc Ji has always been the early bird. If I were to put it out, he's the first one to in yet he's one of the last ones to go home. After all his work and rounds, he would stay for a good 15 minutes inside his office to check if everything is indeed done, if he missed something, or maybe, just to cool down. However, lately, he's been honda."
"What's honda? The brand?"
"Honda. Hmm, short for 'on the dot'. He rushes to leave as if he still has someone to catch. Take note, excitedly." Mary enumerated as if she was an investigator who caught major evidence.
"Oh, dinner time." Kei suddenly blurted out. Then she realized that she exposed them unnoticingly. She smiled helplessly confirming everything with her reaction.
"Ah, for a date. I mean, dinner." Mary got it quickly.
"Okay. That's all from me." Kei could only say. "Hmm, do you have anything to ask? I'd rather answer it personally than have you make wild speculations." Kei tried to make a forced smile to hide her embarrassment.
"Can we ask just one question?" Jane asked.
"Shoot! But let's do it while we are a distance away from his office. I don't like him to hear about how I answered your question." She made a helpless sigh.
The three girls then sprinted out of the office and giggled.
"Okay, what is it?" Kei asked while they were walking.
"How long has it been?" Both of them asked in unison, not even hiding the excitement in their voices.
"Hmmm, three weeks, I guess?" She tried recalling. "We bought 3 baluts two days ago to commemorate our week... Oops. Yeah, three weeks." She closed her eyes in embarrassment.
Mary and Jane can't help but be amused more. They imagined Doc Ji receiving three baluts for their weeksary. Who would have thought that they'll be celebrating a weeksary?
Suddenly, one of the phones in their pockets alarmed them.
"Sorry, that's mine. Lunch is over." Jane murmured shyly.
"It's okay. I should be going too." Kei said. Then she started walking.
"Miss Kei!" Mary suddenly shouted which made Kei look back. "Yes?"
"Advance happy 1st Month. Stay happy..." Mary said teasingly then ran back to Jiro's clinic.
Kei could only shake her head helplessly.
The past three weeks were like a blur. They were dating happily. It's not that they want to hide their relationship but they don't want to flaunt it either. They thought they are lowkey already.
"I guess, the changes are noticeable... which is good." Kei thought to herself as she walked back to the site. "At least, I've got some info to use. I'll tease him later." Then she made an evil grin.
===
===